Name: The Best Sous Vide Pot Roast Braised Tender With Gravy
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1800 min
Total time: 1805 min
Ingredients: 1 3-pound chuck roast; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 teaspoon mixed dried spices of your choice, (garlic powder, onion powder, dried herbs*); few sprigs fresh herbs like thyme, parsley, rosemary; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

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Last Updated on June 22, 2024 by Lisa Keys

Sous vide pot roast with gravy, mashed potatoes and carrots.

A sous vide pot roast is the answer to your summer time cravings for a flavorful beef dinner that won't break the bank or heat up the kitchen. When it comes to preparing a fork-tender cheap cut of meat like a chuck roast, I find using the traditional slow cooker method less than efficient or fool-proof. The sous vide cooking method using an immersion circulator is the way to turn an inexpensive cut of meat into prime-rib tenderness and flavor.

Sous Vide Pot Roast 5 Minute Prep

Set immersion circulator with lid to 152 degrees for 30 hours
Trim excess fat from a 3 pound chuck roast
Season the beef roast with salt (no pepper) and favorite fresh green herbs
Tie roast to hold shape is optional, but recommended
Vacuum seal in heavy duty sous vide bag or double bag using the water displacement method

Preparing chuck roast for sous vide pot roast.

Immersion circulator sous vide pot roast.

I'm thankful for my introduction into sous vide cooking. If this method is new to you it can be a bit confusing. Ask 10 different people how to sous vide pot roast and you will get 10 different answers. You will note cooking temperatures from 133F to 175F and times ranging from 18 to 36 hours and everything in between.

The reason for that is that we all seek different tastes and tenderness from this roast beef. Cooking under vacuum in precise temperature controlled conditions allows you the versatility to cook this tough cut of meat to either a steak-like texture (133F), a juicy braise (152F) or even shreddable meat that you might wrap in a tortilla (175F).

Cooked sous vide chuck roast and bag drippings.

My preference leans to the juicy braise, so I am following the advice of Jason Logsdon from amazing food made easy blog. I am cooking at 152F for 30 to 36 hours. My 5 minute preparation is quite simple. I trim the excess fat. Then, I season the roast all over with kosher salt and dried spices. Just before vacuum sealing add a healthy dose of fresh herbs from my garden. I like lemon thyme.

Place the bag in the water bath making sure it is completely submerged. Cover the vessel with a lid or plastic wrap to prevent evaporation and that is it until dinner the next day. If you want a quicker meal then try my sous vide fried chicken.

Sous vide pot roast cooking tips

avoid adding black pepper and fresh garlic to cooking bag as these flavors don't do well over long cook times
do not add oil or butter to the bag as they pull flavor from the meat
let the meat rest before slicing
use the bag juices to make a pan sauce or gravy
searing the meat is an unnecessary step, but you do you

Sunday supper includes sliced sous vide pot roast, roasted carrots, frizzled onions with lemon thyme garnish.

How long to cook sous vide pot roast

At 30 hours of cooking time I decided to give the meat a little pinch. It felt quite tender, so I pulled it out of the water bath. It rested for about 5 to 10 minutes minutes in the bag. Then, I suspended the bag over a bowl, cut a slit in the corner and let all the accumulated juices drain into the bowl. I used the juices to make a beefy pan gravy thickening it with a flour-butter roux. I highly recommend making the gravy and adding a side of mashed potatoes.